The subject matter disclosed herein relates to electric power generation and distribution, and more particularly to regenerative load electric power management.
Electrical power systems in hybrid vehicles, such as military hybrid vehicles, can include high voltage direct current (DC) power generation and distribution systems, and multiple actuation loads. Regenerative power from the actuation loads may be returned to the distribution (system) bus. Conventional methods implement shunt regulators to dissipate regenerative power into a power dissipation resistor. These methods require additional thermal management to manage heat generated in the dissipation resistor. In one approach, the regenerative power is redirected to a power sink, such as into ancillary electrical loads or to the starter/generator as mechanical (kinetic) energy. However, current methods do not adequately harvest regenerative energy and can result in a reduction in the power quality on the DC bus during load transients.